5.  The applicant was born in 1963 and lives in Chernihiv. The applicant is a single woman and for many years she maintained friendly relationships with Z. and her parents.
6.  In 1999 the flat where Z. and her parents lived was robbed and Z.’s mother was killed. After it had been found that the crime had been committed by certain male perpetrators, the investigation was stayed as the culprits could not be identified.
7.  On 10 August 2001 Z. was found dead in the flat with several knife wounds.
8.  On 11 August 2001 the Chernihiv Prosecutor’s Office (“the prosecutor’s office”) instituted criminal proceedings concerning Z.’s murder.
9.  On 17 August 2001 the applicant was questioned as a witness in respect of the murder. The applicant noted that she had been friend with Z. and stated that she did not know who might have killed her.
10.  On 3 November 2001 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of the murder of Z. She was questioned by the investigator of the prosecutor’s office between 11.10 a.m. and 3.15 p.m., following which a written record of the interview was prepared, which was two pages long. According to the record, the applicant’s right to remain silent under Article 63 of the Constitution had been explained to her, following which she denied any involvement in the crime.
11.  At 3.30 p.m. an arrest report was prepared. At the same time the investigator explained to the applicant her rights to a lawyer and to remain silent. The applicant signed the record and wrote as follows: “at the present moment I refuse the services of defence counsel”. The investigator accepted this waiver by issuing a separate ruling.
12.  After the questioning session, the applicant was placed in the local temporary detention centre, where she allegedly suffered as a result of a lack of appropriate sanitary and hygienic conditions; the cell was dark, damp and dirty; the water supply was irregular.
13.  Between 3 and 5 November 2001, the applicant was regularly visited by the investigator and police officers, who allegedly compelled her to confess to the murder. According to the applicant, they explained to her that if she confessed to the crime and cooperated with the investigation they would arrange her release under an obligation not to abscond, she would not be dismissed from her job, and they would mitigate her responsibility to the extent of getting her released from imprisonment. On the contrary, if she continued claiming innocence, she would in any event be charged with the murder as, in the absence of any alibi, no one would believe her. They would also arrange for her to have the worst cell in the pre-trial detention centre and subsequently in prison. The transportation to the prison would be the most horrible experience.
14.  In the course of these discussions, the applicant was allowed to telephone her friend M. The applicant asked M. to find a lawyer. Following the conversation, M., together with P. (the applicant’s relative), hired a lawyer for the applicant.
15.  On 5 November 2001 the lawyer requested the prosecutor’s office to give him access to the applicant. As he could not find the investigator in charge of the applicant’s criminal case, he gave the relevant authorisation document to another investigator and asked the latter to pass it on to the investigator dealing with the applicant’s case.
16.  On 5 November 2001 the applicant, assuming that her friend had not found a lawyer, wrote a confession to the murder of Z. According to the applicant, she plotted the story with the assistance of police officers, after acceding to their demands that she take on the guilt.
17.  The same day the confession was included in the record of the interview which was conducted by the prosecutor’s office investigator, without a lawyer. Before the interview the applicant had had her rights under Article 63 of the Constitution explained to her.
18.  On 6 November 2001 the applicant confirmed her self-incriminating statements during a reconstruction of the crime: this too was conducted without a lawyer.
19.  On the same day the court extended the applicant’s preliminary detention in the local temporary detention centre to ten days. The applicant was further examined by a forensic medical expert, who did not find any injuries on her body.
20.  On 7 November 2001 the applicant was informed that her friend had found a lawyer for her. At the applicant’s request, the investigator admitted the lawyer to the case and the lawyer was allowed to see the applicant for the first time.
21.  On the same day the applicant retracted her confession and complained to the prosecutor that her self-incriminating statements and waiver of the right to a lawyer had been given as a result of psychological pressure by the police officers and the prosecutor’s office. She also claimed that the investigator had not informed her that M. had found the lawyer for her and that the latter had been trying to see her as from 5 November 2001.
22.  On 9 November 2001 the head of the investigation department of the prosecutor’s office informed the applicant that her complaint of psychological pressure by the investigator was unsubstantiated; her allegations that pressure had been exerted on her by police officers would be examined in the course of the pre-trial investigation.
23.  On the same day the applicant’s lawyer complained to the prosecutor that between 5 and 7 November 2001 he had been unlawfully impeded from gaining access to the applicant.
24.  On the same day the applicant applied to the investigator for release. She claimed that she had not committed any crime and had given the self-incriminating statements as a result of psychological pressure exercised on her by police officers. The investigator replied that her submissions would be examined in the course of the pre-trial investigation.
25.  On 13 November 2001 the Desnyanskyy District Court of Chernihiv (“the District Court”) ordered the applicant’s pre-trial detention for two months. The applicant was moved to the Chernihiv pre-trial detention centre.
26.  On 14 November 2001 the head of the investigation department of the prosecutor’s office, in reply to the lawyer’s complaint of 9 November 2001, found that there had been no violations in respect of the lawyer’s delayed access to the applicant. He noted that on 5 November 2011 the lawyer had handed the authority document to an investigator who was not responsible for the applicant’s case, and the latter only managed to find the right investigator on 7 November 2001; on the same date the lawyer was admitted to the case. On 23 November 2001 the lawyer was given the same answer by the Chernihiv prosecutor.
27.  On 14 December 2001 the investigator opened criminal proceedings against the applicant for theft of jewellery from Z. He joined both cases against the applicant in one set of proceedings.
28.  On 18 December 2001 the applicant changed her lawyer.
29.  On 28 December 2001 the investigator of the prosecutor’s office issued a decision refusing to open criminal proceedings against the police officers for abuse of powers in connection with the applicant’s allegations of psychological ill-treatment and violation of her rights of defence. The investigator found that the applicant’s allegations against the police officers had been an attempt to escape criminal responsibility. He further noted that the police officers were assisting the investigator on a lawful basis and the medical evidence available in the file suggested that the applicant had no bodily injuries on the dates concerned.
30.  On 31 January 2002 the District Court extended the applicant’s pre-trial detention to four months.
31.  On 11 February 2002 the prosecutor’s office investigator questioned the investigator who had been in charge of the applicant’s case in November 2001. At the time of the interview he had been transferred, within the same office, to the position of senior assistant to the prosecutor. The interviewee explained that he had decided to have the applicant arrested on 3 November 2001, as by that time he had collected sufficient information suggesting that she might have committed the crime. During the questioning he exerted no physical or psychological pressure on the applicant, and the self-incriminatory statements were given by the applicant of her own free will.
32.  On 13 March 2002 the investigator questioned two police officers, who denied the applicant’s allegations that they had psychologically attacked her.
33.  On 18 March 2002 the prosecutor’s office investigator refused to open criminal proceedings against the former investigator in connection with the applicant’s allegations. The decision was based on the statements given by the former investigator and the police officers.
34.  In March 2002 the investigation in the applicant’s case was completed and the case file was referred to the District Court for trial.
35.  On 31 July 2002 the District Court remitted the case for additional investigation after finding that the investigation had not been thorough and that the applicant’s allegations about violation of her rights had not been properly examined.
36.  On 4 November 2002 the Supreme Court quashed the decision of 31 July 2002 as unsubstantiated, and noted that the procedural issues indicated by the first-instance court could be resolved during the trial. The case was therefore remitted to the first-instance court.
37.  During the trial the applicant denied any involvement in the crimes she was charged with. She complained of psychological ill-treatment and violation of her rights of defence at the initial stage of the investigation. The court questioned the police officers and the investigator concerned, who declared that the applicant had confessed to the murder without any pressure from them.
38.  On 21 April 2003 the District Court found the applicant guilty of the murder and theft and sentenced her to ten years’ imprisonment. The court based its judgment on the self-incriminatory statements given by the applicant without the lawyer on 5 and 6 November 2001. It also referred to some indirect evidence. The court rejected the applicant’s allegations of psychological ill-treatment, having regard to the results of enquiries carried out by the prosecutor’s office and to the statements given by the police officers and the investigator during the trial. It further found that there had been no breach of the applicant’s rights of defence at the initial stage of the proceedings, as the applicant had waived her right to a lawyer at that time.
39.  The applicant appealed against the judgement, claiming, inter alia, that her self-incriminating statements had been made as a result of psychological pressure and in the absence of a lawyer.
40.  On 11 September 2003 the Chernihiv Region Court of Appeal (“the Court of Appeal”) upheld the applicant’s conviction, noting, inter alia, that the District Court had legitimately based its judgment on the self-incriminatory statements given by the applicant on 5 and 6 November 2001. The Court of Appeal rejected the applicant’s contentions that there had been psychological ill-treatment, after examining the available material and after questioning the investigator and the police officers again. As to the absence of legal assistance at the time of self-incrimination, the Court of Appeal noted that the applicant had been given access to a lawyer once she had requested it and the authority document had been submitted.
41.  A separate opinion given by one of the judges considering the case was annexed to the decision of the Court of Appeal. According to the applicant, her lawyer was not provided with a copy of the separate opinion.
42.  On 15 March 2005 the Supreme Court endorsed the judgment of 21 April 2003 as substantiated. The applicant’s contentions that there had been psychological ill-treatment and that her rights of defence had been violated were rejected as unfounded.